Scott Bentley

After taking her 10-year-old son to Dairy Queen to celebrate his baseball team's victory, Beth Bentley packed her shoulder bag, telling her husband she'd be back in three days from a weekend visit to Wisconsin with a friend. She never returned. In the nine months since that weekend, she hasn't called home. The 42-year-old mother of three from Woodstock simply vanished. Her family's confusion was compounded by an unsettling revelation delivered the night she was reported missing — she didn't go...

After taking her 10-year-old son to Dairy Queen to celebrate his baseball team's victory, Beth Bentley packed her shoulder bag, telling her husband she'd be back in three days from a weekend visit to Wisconsin with a friend. She never returned. In the nine months since that weekend, she hasn't called home. The 42-year-old mother of three from Woodstock simply vanished. Her family's confusion was compounded by an unsettling revelation delivered the night she was reported missing — she didn't go...

Carolina Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein has the flu and is questionable for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints. Beuerlein woke up Saturday feeling ill and was not able to practice, team spokesman Charlie Dayton said. He later went to a Charlotte hospital, where he was given fluids and held late into the afternoon. He was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans late Saturday night. Beuerlein, who threw for an NFL-leading 4,436 yards last season, has thrown for 1,261 yards...

Carolina Panthers quarterback Steve Beuerlein has the flu and is questionable for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints. Beuerlein woke up Saturday feeling ill and was not able to practice, team spokesman Charlie Dayton said. He later went to a Charlotte hospital, where he was given fluids and held late into the afternoon. He was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans late Saturday night. Beuerlein, who threw for an NFL-leading 4,436 yards last season, has thrown for 1,261 yards...

Florida State kicker Scott Bentley got a surprise in the mail Wednesday: a letter from Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz. In the handwritten letter, Holtz said, "Scott, I just want you to know that there is not nor has there been any animosity on my part towards you." He then wished Bentley a good game Saturday. It was the first time Bentley had heard from Holtz since he picked Florida State over Notre Dame, prompting an angry phone call from the coach. Bentley didn't know how long the letter,...

Being someone's hero must be both ego-inflating and a little humbling, even scary, especially when you're 21 years old with so few of life's challenges yet met and so many left to confront. It has to be flattering to have a high school football player adopt you as a role model and seek your counsel, to know that player has changed his jersey number from No. 38 to No. 3 because that's the number you wear at Florida State. Imagine then the numbing shock, the reminder of your mortality, when you're...

Being someone's hero must be both ego-inflating and a little humbling, even scary, especially when you're 21 years old with so few of life's challenges yet met and so many left to confront. It has to be flattering to have a high school football player adopt you as a role model and seek your counsel, to know that player has changed his jersey number from No. 38 to No. 3 because that's the number you wear at Florida State. Imagine then the numbing shock, the reminder of your mortality, when you're...

At the practice field where Florida State is working out for its New Year's Day matchup against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, players file near a rusted barbecue. "Hey, let's go grill some hot dogs," a teammate joked to Florida State kicker Scott Bentley. It was a reference to the recruiting wars between Florida State and Notre Dame over Bentley, the cocky kicker who came out of high school with a leg that supposedly could boot a football through the uprights 65 yards away.

Sometimes those computer games can get too realistic. A few weeks ago, Florida State running back William Floyd was playing a computer game that features college football teams. Floyd took Florida State against archrival Miami. Miami held a three-point lead as the Seminoles lined up for a tying field goal on the last play. Just like real life. "It went wide right," Floyd said. "I'm serious. Wide right." Just like real life. Florida State can't escape it, even on a...

Florida State kicker Scott Bentley got a surprise in the mail Wednesday: a letter from Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz. In the handwritten letter, Holtz said, "Scott, I just want you to know that there is not nor has there been any animosity on my part towards you." He then wished Bentley a good game Saturday. It was the first time Bentley had heard from Holtz since he picked Florida State over Notre Dame, prompting an angry phone call from the coach. Bentley didn't know how long the letter,...

Bobby Bowden has had many big recruits during his days at Florida State. Players who went on to be All-Americans, first-round draft picks, superstars. But none may be as big as Scott Bentley, who comes to Tallahassee via Aurora, Col. Bentley might be the missing piece for Bowden and the Seminoles. Bentley is a kicker. He could be the difference in transforming Florida State from "Wide Right University" to national champions. "What do we have to do different this year?"

They say, in this so-called Game of the Millennium, that it all could come down to one kick. An extra point or a field goal could spell the difference when top-ranked Florida State meets No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday. The national championship could ride on the swoop of a leg with only seconds or no time left. Is there pressure for a placekicker? Ask Kevin Butler of the Bears, who missed two from chip-shot range Sunday. Don't ask Kevin Pendergast, who does the...

Notre Dame and Florida State drew the two top recruiting classes of the 1993 season. And two of the main reasons are high school All-Americans Ron Powlus and Scott Bentley. None of the hundreds of football players who signed letters of intent to Division I schools last week will be facing more immediate pressure than Powlus and Bentley. Powlus, 6-foot-4-inch, 210-pound quarterback from Berwick, Pa., with the reputation as a "franchise" player could become a starter at...

By Ed Sherman, Tribune College Football Writer. Tribune staff writer Joseph Tybor contributed to the story | November 10, 1993

Scott Bentley knows this might seem strange, but he says traveling Saturday to Notre Dame Stadium will be almost like "going home." The Florida State kicker grew up in a Notre Dame household, watching Irish games with his father, Bob, a faithful alum. He has visited the campus several times, and he knows what the place is all about. "There's going to be a sense of security," said Bentley to a throng of perplexed reporters Tuesday. Bentley then realized the...

Florida State arrived Thursday for a practice at a sweltering Giants Stadium. The heat raised sweat off the AstroTurf, but the Seminoles didn't seem bothered. They have been feeling the heat during the entire preseason. In fact, Florida State has been feeling the heat since 1987, when it made its first ill-fated run at a national championship. The Seminoles have learned to live with the heat. The difference, they hope this year, is that they will finally thrive on it. Once again,...

Sometimes those computer games can get too realistic. A few weeks ago, Florida State running back William Floyd was playing a computer game that features college football teams. Floyd took Florida State against archrival Miami. Miami held a three-point lead as the Seminoles lined up for a tying field goal on the last play. Just like real life. "It went wide right," Floyd said. "I'm serious. Wide right." Just like real life. Florida State can't escape it, even on a...

At the practice field where Florida State is working out for its New Year's Day matchup against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, players file near a rusted barbecue. "Hey, let's go grill some hot dogs," a teammate joked to Florida State kicker Scott Bentley. It was a reference to the recruiting wars between Florida State and Notre Dame over Bentley, the cocky kicker who came out of high school with a leg that supposedly could boot a football through the uprights 65 yards away.

Illinois Athletic Director Ron Guenther has been looking for ways to connect with the school's 140,000 alumni in the Chicago area. That's why he's considering moving a Illini home football game to Soldier Field next fall. There's another reason for the possible move: The Illini have seven home games next year, and it's easier to sell six-game season-ticket packages. "If ever there was a year to bring the product to Chicago, that would be the year," Guenther said Tuesday. The...

Florida State arrived Thursday for a practice at a sweltering Giants Stadium. The heat raised sweat off the AstroTurf, but the Seminoles didn't seem bothered. They have been feeling the heat during the entire preseason. In fact, Florida State has been feeling the heat since 1987, when it made its first ill-fated run at a national championship. The Seminoles have learned to live with the heat. The difference, they hope this year, is that they will finally thrive on it. Once again,...